Collapsible and adjustable wall rack



July 18, 1933. R. E. MILLER 1,918,708

COLLAPSIBLE AND ADJUSTABLE WALL RACK Filed larch 1950 i n INVNTOR 27 2aRoberili'. iller' '36 ATT NEY Patented July 18, 1933 PATENT OFFICEROBERT E MILLER, or B o XVIL E, NEW Yonx COLLAPSIBLE AND ADJUSTABLEWALLRACK Application filed March 1, 1930. Serial No. 432,301.

My presentinvention relates generally to racks, and has particularreference to wall racks of the character which are designed tosupportclothing, neckties, shoes, and the like.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a rack with at leastone supporting portion arranged at a spaced interval from the wall, andwherein said portion is adjustable in length. In a preferred embodiment,the rack comprises a U-shaped element or strip, the arms of the U beingprovided with means for attaching them at their ends to a-wall orthelike, and the base of the U being adjustable.

A more particular object is to construct the supporting portion, i. e.,the base of the U in the preferred embodiment, in a novel simplifiedmanner which is inexpensive to manufacture, capable in a simple mannerof the contemplated adjustment, and attractive in appearance.

It is another general object of my invention to provide a rack having atleast two superposed shelf elements which are positionally adjustablewith respect to one another and which are each individually adjustableas to length. In a preferred construction, each individual shelf elementembodies the features hereinbefore referred to as to simplicity ofconstruction and adjustability.

In accordance with my invention, a rack composed of superposed shelfelements of the foregoing character is adapted to be collapsed into acompact structure lyingsubstantially in a single plane; is capable ofadjustment into a wide variety of forms to satisfy differingrequirements, and embodies a structural nature which permits theseadjustments to be expeditiously effected.

For example, where my invention is applied to a shoe rack, I provideeach of two shelf elements in the shape of a U, the lower element havinglonger arms and therefore extending outwardly to a greater extent.elements are a pair of connectors pivotally Between the ends ofthejU-shaped associated with the elements so as to permitof the relativepositional adjustment hereinbefore mentioned. i In a preferred construc-7 tion, both of the shelf elements have'independent-ly adjustable Ubases to permit of a wide variety of supporting arrangements.

For the attainment of the foregoing objects and such other objects asmay hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have constructed a deviceembodying the features of my invention and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the mainportion of a supporting rack embodying certain features of my presentinvention;

' Figure 2 is a perspective view of a wall rack designed for the supportof shoes, with the elements in one relative adjustment;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, with the elements differentlyadjusted;

.Figure 4' is a viewsimilar to Figures 2 and 3, with the elementsadjusted in a further manner; i

Figure 5 is a plan view of the device of Figures 2, 3, and 4 incollapsed condition;

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 66 of Figure 1; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken substantially alongthe line 7-7 of Figure 6. 1

In Figure 1, I have shown a supporting 30 rack which consists of the twooverlapping strips 10 and 11, each strip being preferably of metalhaving a smooth and polished exterior surface and rounded edges. Eachstrip'is-substantially rectangular in cross section, although such aconfiguration is not essential. I

The overlapping end 12 of the strip 11 is provided with an integralenlarged head 13 which is preferably produced by flattening 9 the end ofthe strip, this head being turned into a transverse direction and beingprovided with an aperture of just sufiicient size snugly and yetslidably to encircle the other strip 10. The overlapping end 14 of thestrip 10 is similarly provided with a transverse integral head 15 whichslidably engages around the strip 11.

The rack of Figure 1 is thus adjustable in length, by varying the extentof overlap,

the strips being axially movable with re spect to each otherand beingretained in proper closely overlying position by the inter-engagementwith them of the heads 13 and 15. In dot-and-dash lines, I have shownthe manner in which the heads would vary theirrelati've positions as thelength of the rack is increased; a

In Figure 1, I have not illustrated the opposite supporting ends of therack because of the wide variety of means for mounting the rack eitherbetween two walls, in sus- One manner of supporting the rack of Figure 1is to pro- .vide the opposite free ends of the strip 10 and 11 withtransverse arms to make the entire rack U-shaped, these arms being thenattached at their ends to a vertical wall.

The adjustability ofthe rack, as to length renders it useful under avariety of conditions. For example, ifthe rack: is applied to the insidesurface of va door, it may be adjusted in length, prior to attachment,to the most suitable length to be carried by such door.

In Figures 2-5, I have shown a rack designed for the specific purpose ofsupporting shoes. The rack I have shown is composed of two shelfelements each of which is U- shaped, the Us being arranged insubstantially parallel planes and the arms of the upper U being shorterthan the arms of the j lower U. More particularly, it will be noted thatthe arm 16 of-the upper shelf element is shorter in length than the arm17 of the lower one.

Where the device is used in the customary manner, the ends of all the Uarms are turned to lie in a common vertical plane, as shown by the freeend 18 of the arm 16 and the rear or free end 19 of the arm 17. The arms20 and 21 correspond on the opposite end of the device to the arms 16and 17, and the ends 22 and 23 correspond to the ends 18 and 19. i

Between the ends 18 and 19, I provide a connector 24 which is pivotallyassociated at its extremities with pivots 25 and 26. The axes of thesepivots are arranged substan tially perpendicular to the common verticalplane referred to so that by adjustment of the connector 24 intopositions, other than vertical, the positional relationship between thetwo superposed shelf elements -may be varied. A connector 27 correspondsto the connector 24.

In Figure2, the elements have been so adjusted that the bases of the twoU-shaped shelves are of substantially equal length.

of the upper U, the shoe extending diagonally downwardly with its soleresting upon the base of the lower U.

In accordance with my present invention, at least one of the U bases isadjustable'in length, and in the embodiment illustrated both bases areso constructed. The base of the upper U comprises, for example, the twooverlapping strips 28 and 29, and the base of the lower U comprises thetwo overlapping strips 30 and 31. The portion or strip 28 is preferablymade integral with the arm 20 and the turned end 22, and the otheroverlapping strips are correspondingly made integral with thecorresponding elements.

In accordance with my invention, the overlapping end 32 of the strip 29is provided with the transverse integral head 33 which encircles thestrip 28, and the head. 34

carried by the strip 28 similarly encircles I the strip 29. Anadjustment in length is therefore exceptionally simple, as previouslypointed out with respect to Figure 1, the two strips of each shelfelement being axially or longitudinally adjustable with respect to eachother and the apertured heads serving as guides and holding thestructure together in a firm and reliable manner.

In Figure 3, I have shown a possible arrangement of parts wherein thebase of the upper U is shorter than the base of the lower U. As aresult, it will be noted that the heads 33 and 34 are further apart inFigure 3 than they are in Figure 2, while the heads 35 and 36 carried bythe strips 31 and 30 respectively are closer together than in Figure 2.

The adjustment of Figure 3 provides a construction which is pyramidal.in nature and achievesthe desirable result of imparting shoe-supportingutility to the arms 16, 17, 20, and 21. For example, at least one shoemight be supported upon the arms 16 and 17 of Figure 3 in the mannerhereinbefore described.

--The adjustment of the base lengths in Figure 3 is accompanied ofcourse by an adjustment of the connectors 24 and 27 into upwardlyconverging positions and, accordingly, in Figure 3, the superposed.shelf elements are closer together than in Figure 2. This distinctionalone results in imparting different characteristics to the device ofFigure 3, because it may, for example, be employed for supportingsmaller shoes or shorter articles.

In Figure 4, I have shown a different adjustment wherein the base of theupper U has been extended and the base of the lower U has been reducedin length. justment, theconnectors 24 and 27 converge downwardly andstill different characteristics are thereby imparted to the device. Forexample, shoes or similar articles may be supported across the bases ofthe Us, as

In this adshown in Figure 2, while additional articles of a similarcharacter are capable of support within the confines of the Us, as, forexample, upon the arms 16 and 17 or upon the arms 20 and 21. Or, ifdesired, stockings or the like may be supported upon these arms in adepending relationship.

The adjusted positions illustrated in Figures 2, 3, and 4 are merelyillustrative of a wide variety of possible manipulations made possibleby the structural nature of my present device It is to be understoodthat although I have shown both of the U bases as being independentlyadjustable as to length, one or the other thereof may be of fixed lengthwhile the other is adjustable; and similar yet not quite as eflicientresults are obtained.

Whether one or both U bases are adjustable, it is a feature of myinvention so to proportion and construct the several elements that theentire device may be collapsed, as shown in Figure 5, wherein the shelfelements are in a single plane for purposes of shipment or the like.

Thus, in Figure 5, the overlapping strips 28 and 29 have been adjustedto reduce the length of the upper base to a minimum, and the connectors24 and 27 are in substantial alignment with one another. In thiscondition, I provide for great facility in packing, handling, stacking,and shipping, al-

though it will be obvious that the entire device may actually beattached to a supporting wall in the adjusted condition of Figure 5, inwhich case the device may be efficiently employed just like an ordinaryshelf or for suspending various articles therefrom.

It is to be noted that in Figure 5 the lower base is adjusted to alength which is substantially equal to the combinedlengths of theconnectors 24 and 27 and the minimum length of the upper base.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a wall rack whose uses areextremely varied. For example, in none of the figures have I shown the Uwith the smaller arms arranged beneath the other U. Adjustments of thischaracter are not only quite feasible, but may in a number of casesrender the device applicable to still different methods of emloyment. Incertain cases, it may be desirable to adjust the device so that thesuperposed shelf elements will not lie in parallel planes but will liein planes oblique to one another.

Furthermore, it will be understood that certain features of my improvedrack are independent of the manner of length adjustment shown mostclearly in Figure 1; while the last-mentioned feature is from one aspectindependent of the specific multi-shelfconstruction shown in Figures2-5.

In general, it will be obvious that changes in the details hereindescribed and illustrated for the purpose of explaining the nature of myinvention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit and scopeofthe invention as expressed in the appended claims.tended that these details be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- -1. A wall rackcomprising a pair of sub- It' is therefore instantially parallelU-shaped strips, the Us I the entire device into a collapsed form lyingin a common plane.

2. A wall rack comprising a pair of substantially parallel U-shapedstrips, the Us being of different depths, the ends of said strips beingarranged to lie in a common plane; a connector between each set ofadjacent ends and having its extremities pivoted to said ends; and meansfor independently adjusting the length of each base, the base of the Uof greater depth being extensible toat least an amount equal in lengthto the combined lengths of said connectors and the minimum length of thebase of the other U, whereby the entire device may be collapsed into acommon plane.

3. A wall rack comprising a pair of substantially parallel U-shapedstrips, the Us being of different depths, the ends of said strips beingarranged to lie in a common plane; a connector between each set ofadjacent ends and having its extremities pivoted to said ends; each Ucomprising a. base formed of complementary overlapping portions, andmeans for independently varying the degree of overlap of each set ofsaid portions.

ROBERT E. MILLER.

